


You Gotta Call Me Uncle, Alright?

by daydreamer_80303



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Awesome James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Gen, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, One Shot, POV James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Parent Tony Stark, Precious Peter Parker, Precious Tony Stark, Protective Tony Stark, Rhodey meets Peter, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, part of a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-14 01:34:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20592476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daydreamer_80303/pseuds/daydreamer_80303
Summary: Rhodey meets Peter when he goes to Tony's for a guys night





	You Gotta Call Me Uncle, Alright?

**Author's Note:**

> i love Rhodey's and Tony's friendship!!! i had to do this fic. there's not enough Rhodey in this fandom.  
Check out my other works and my long fic 'Anything But Temporary'  
comments and kudos are much appreciated!!!! :)  
love,  
daydreamer_80303

FRIDAY dutifully deposited Rhodey onto Tony’s private floor. It had been three months since they’d hung out, and since Pepper was out of station for a week, Tony had excitedly called Rhodey and the two of them had made plans to drink coffee (they were both too old for the vodka they had in college) and watch crappy old action movies all night. 

All was quiet, which surprised Rhodey. Tony was still an insomniac, so he’d expected to be serenaded by one of AC/DC’s loudest tracks, but all he could hear was…The Lion King? What? Had Tony finally gone mad? Fuck, was he doing drugs again? In all his time of being friends with the man, he’d heard him loudly voice his distaste for animation movies. 

Especially ones with huge daddy issues. 

He walked into the living room in battle pose, expecting anything. Well, anything except what he saw. On the couch was Tony, intent on watching the Lion King, with a curly haired kid curled into his side, and asleep in the crook of his arm. Tony was absentmindedly stroking the kid’s unruly brown hair while watching Timon and Pumba dance in the jungle. 

Wow. 

Not wanting to wake the child, Rhodey gingerly waved his hand in front of Tony’s face, successfully grabbing his attention. Tony waved back enthusiastically and proceeded to extricate himself from the kid’s grip, the process taking him a good two minutes. The kid mewled and turned to the other side of the couch once Tony was off, grabbing a cushion and cuddling it in his sleep. Tony shot the kid a fond look, and Rhodey swore he saw heart emojis in his friend’s eyes. 

Rhodey gestured to the kitchenette and starting moving there, and plopped onto a bar stool. Tony took the seat next to him. 

“Uh, man? What was that? Is there something you haven’t told me?”

“What do you mean?” Tony must’ve been feigning innocence. There was no way he didn’t know what Rhodey was talking about.

“Tony, I’ve known you since you were fifteen and stupid.”

“That’s an established fact, honey bear. Anything interesting that I don’t know?”

“Tones, don’t screw with me. Remember on your sixteenth birthday, when you were drunk off your ass you proclaimed to never having watched a single animation film, and how you would never watch one?”

“To be fair, I was drunk.” Tony retorted. Rhodey wanted to shake him. 

“When I walked in, I expected to see you waiting, maybe with a beer. Instead, I found you, with child, Tony, with child, watching the freaking Lion King? Where did that come from?”

“Peter was tired,” Tony defended. “He was having nightmares again. I’ve never watched the Lion King before. It was a good middle ground.”

“Aah, so his name’s Peter. I had to coax that outta you too.” Rhodey said. Two could play at this game. 

“Yeah, his name’s Peter. Peter Parker. And I would’ve told you if you’d asked, platypus.”

“I didn’t know he existed to even ask, Tones! Is he yours?”

“What?” Tony looked completely blindsided. 

“Your kid, Tony. I thought you had a PhD. Do you understand English?”

Tony, obviously, ignored his insults. “He’s not mine. Why would you think that?”

“Oh. I mean, you were…well, reckless, in your 30s, I guess. And 20s. And basically until you got together with Pepper.”

“OK, but I was careful. He’s not mine, Rhodey.” The reply was loud and defensive. Tony looked at his feet. Was he sensing something here? Peter was obviously more to Tony than some kid. Then it hit him. 

“But you wish he was. Your kid, I mean. You wish he was your kid.”

“Don’t be so loud, you’ll wake him up. And he’s cranky when he wakes up, like an angry puppy. A hungry puppy, more like. You have no clue how much he eats, Rhodey. He’s a sugar monster. And he loves Sour Patch. You know how much Sour Patch I’ve purchased over the past couple months? Well, let’s just say more times than Happy’s watched the first season of Downtown Abbey.”

“Awww.” Rhodey replied. 

“Aww what, honey bear?”

“God, you’re such a dad.”

“What? No! I’m not…not a dad.”

“Really? How’s Peter doing in school, then? Where does he go anyways?” Rhodey asked, making use of Tony’s customized coffee machine. Perks of tolerating a billionaire.

“Midtown School of Science and Tech. Kid’s there on a scholarship, cause he’s a bloody genius. His favorite subject is physics and chemistry, but he does fairly OK in the humanities too. I mean, the past month his grade has fallen by about 5%, but that’s because he’s so busy with Decathlon and well, his other…extra-curricular, and wait—this is exactly what you want right?”

Rhodey slurped his coffee, swirling it around in his mouth, enjoying Tony’s adamant expression. “Yup. You just proved me right. Who is this kid, Tones? And where did you find him? And how do you know his fucking grade drop?”

“Language,” Tony corrected immediately. 

Rhodey raised an eyebrow. “Yesterday you called me to tell me that Ross was one motherfucking bitch of an asshole and he could fuck himself.”

“Well, the kid’s like a sponge, I don’t want him picking up any bad habits, cause he’s already so innocent…”

“Tony.”

“He’s from Queens. He…um, caught my attention. Dead smart. So, he’s my intern, sort of. Lab assistant, you could call it. DUM-E and U love him. I know his grades, um, because,” Tony took his own sweet time to also reach for a cup of coffee, “I ask his aunt to send me his monthly progress reports.” 

Rhodey shook his head in disbelief. “You never take interns. You once said everyone under the age of thirty should still be in school.”

“Well, he’s different, OK? Just, don’t question it.”

Rhodey smiled. He liked this side of Tony. He mentally thanked Peter. Tony’s world obviously revolved around him, and he was making Tony more mature; more thoughtful. Making him a dad. It suited him. Who knew? If someone had told Rhodey in, let’s say, 2010, that Tony checked up on a teenagers report cards on a monthly basis, Rhodey would’ve told them to quit the meth. 

“Well, when am I gonna meet my nephew then?”

That took Tony by surprise, and he smiled one of those rare, genuine smiles. “Donno. I’m sorry about tonight, anyways. Kid’s aunt is working the night at the hospital and apparently Petey here is scared of the dark. Hence, impromptu move night.”

“No problem. I’m getting sick of action movies anyways.” Rhodey said, meaning to put his cup down on the counter but missing. With a resounding crash, it hit the floor and shattered. Tony and he flinched back, and Peter sat up with a gasp from the couch.

“M’ssr Stark?” He said, rubbing his eyes and looking around. 

“Right here, kid.” Tony said, smiling. Peter turned around and blinked thrice before registering another person in the room. Once he did, he jumped off the couch, falling on his butt before jumping back up and hobbling to the kitchenette, blushing hard. Hmm. Tony was right. He did look like an adorable puppy. Rhodey fought the urge to ruffle his hair.

“Mr. Colonel Rhodes War Machine Sir!” he said, and Rhodey laughed. “It’s such an honour to meet you! Oh my god, you’re so cool, Mr. Stark keeps talking about you”

“Chill it kid, I pay for everything.”

“Pleased to meet you too, kid. Tony here was just telling me about you too.”

Peter turned wide eyes toward Tony. “All embarrassing, I presume? Is the cup replaceable?”

This kid. Of course he would ask about a coffee mug in a billionaire's house. "It'll be fine, Peter. I'm sure Tony has a billion more."

Tony placed his hand on his chest in mock grief. “So little faith, Parker. I’m supremely disappointed.”

Peter reached for a mug, and Tony swatted his hand away. “Nope. No. The last thing the state of New York needs is a caffeine filled Peter Parker.”

“I’ll be fine, Mr. Stark. Hey, do you have Sour Patch?”

“What did I tell you, Rhodes? Yeah kid, it’s where it’s always been…”

Wow. (Rhodey felt himself saying that a lot tonight.) Tony was actually a dad. He was joking before, but seeing the scene unravel before his own eyes, there was no denying it. He spoke to Peter with a soft tone he hadn’t even seen the man save for Pepper. Peter brought out something in Tony. Even though he’d proposed to Pepper last year, Tony hadn’t said anything about a kid of their own, and smartly evaded the topic whenever it was brought up. Well. Rhodey supposed he didn’t need one now. 

“Sweetheart.” Tony snapped his fingers an inch in front of Rhodey’s face.

“What?”

“You wanna start another movie, Mr. Rhodey?” Peter asked. “Or maybe I should go back home? I’m really sorry, I didn’t know you guys were supposed to have a guys night tonight, or else I would’ve just, I donno, watched the Office or something…”

“Nonsense, Peter.” Rhodey said. He liked the kid already and something told him Tony wanted him to stay. Plus, he was practically an uncle now, and what sort of uncle didn’t know their nephew?

“Cool! Uhhh, I guess we should pick another movie and start over? What do you guys wanna watch?”

“Back to the Future.” Rhodey answered immediately. No contest. 

Peter brightened immediately. “You like science fiction and time travel movies? Awesome.”

“Love ‘em, kid. Almost as much as Tony hates Harry Potter. Wait, did you convince him to watch that too?”

“That,” Tony butted in, “will never happen. Not even with his goddamn puppy eyes. And now,” he waved his finger threateningly, “I don’t want you two ganging up against me.”

“But Mr. Stark.” Peter said, with a mock offended tone. It was crazy how much he already acted like Tony. “That’s the best part.”

“Chut.” Tony said, and ushered the two of them back to the couch, plus one XL bag of Sour Patch. How did the kid eat that stuff? Rhodey had tried one before discreetly spitting it out and dropping it into the nearest dustbin. His tongue couldn’t handle the damn sour taste. 

“So, kid.” Rhodey said, nudging Peter as the movie started. The kid was comfortably nestled in between him and Tony. “You gotta call me Uncle now, alright?” 

He actually saw Peter’s face light up like a slow motion cartoon, and he understood how he had Tony wrapped around his little finger. “Really?”

“Of course, kid. It’s only natural.” 

“He’ll neeeever call you uncle.” Tony said, looking at his phone. (Rhodey made a mental note to throw it out the window. First alcohol, now this. He hope it didn’t rub off on Peter.) “You’ll be Mr. Rhodey until you’re on your deathbed.”

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said exasperatedly. “Can we just watch the movie?”

“Yup.” Tony said, popping the p. “Just helping a brother out.”

And so they sat, the three of them. This was not what Rhodey had in mind when he’d caught a cab to the Tower, but somehow it felt the same, if not better. Tony and he were still brothers after all these years, still sitting on the couch and watching old movies. Except now, they were older, wiser, and more mature. Call him cheesy, it was true. They’d come a long way from Rhodey chasing after a drunk Tony with a nameless stranger in his bed. 

Halfway through the movie, something moved against Rhodey’s arm, and he turned to see Peter’s eyes closed, face peaceful and lax in sleep. He and Tony shared a look. 

They sat with a kid, now. And albeit a little surprised, Rhodey couldn’t be happier that it turned out this way. He hoped there were only better things to come.


End file.
